Transition from BaseBuild to Marathon Pace

The NightHawks and Kookaburras progressed into week #5 with a new route and challenge – transition from the BaseBuild pace into Marathon pace (which will set the tone from weeks 6-8).

This being another night conditioning long run made it even more challenging, although the route along ECP along Gardens By The Bay and MBS is overall pancake flat. The weather looked threatening 1 hour prior to the training, but a check with our weather app showed we had a good chance of avoiding the rain, which we did eventually.

In view of the long 17km-28km distance, we had a quick briefing before starting off by 7:50pm as planned. The respective group Trainers, Pacers and Trainees were all excited to test their paces along the new route, and also to put the night’s training objectives into practice.

The whole route from ECP into Gardens and then MBS was well lit to our pleasant surprise, allowing us smooth access along the route. The only hazard was the myriad of night cyclists dashing about which we had to be vigilant about.

The NightHawk trainers set very steady paces which prevented trainees from starting too fast in the first half, leaving room for a highly negative split in the second half of the run. Although the night was windy, there were stretches that were humid. It was good that most of the trainees had hydration with them as advised.

The Half Marathon trainees had a good run of 17km and met their targets of returning with a faster Marathon Pace after 8.5km of BaseBuild run. The Full Marathoners were good through to 18-22km before some found the Marathon Pace harder to sustain in the final 5-6km.

Still it was a good training run for all, with many trainees having gone their longest distances for the first time. From the funny way some were walking, it can be seen that the trainees were indeed stretched. From the smiling faces when asked, it could be seen that all of them were proud and happy that they completed the mission and have advanced to the next level of conditioning.

The NightHawks and Kookaburras will advance into Phase 2 (Marathon Pace) from weeks 6-8 with more night conditioning runs of 30km+. This will set the stage for bringing all into the final phase (Optimal Pace) in weeks 9-12 with a couple of 20km+ (HM) and 30km+ (FM) to ensure sufficient distance and pace conditioning for a fruitful race.